


That's what friends are for

by Oncer993



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 5x1 alternative ending, F/M, FIx It, Felicity and Curtis have each other's back, Felicity does not have a boyfriend, Gen, I miss them but I can wait, Legacy spoilers if you hadn't seen it, M/M, Olicity Feels, TerrificSmoak, havenrock, mentions of past Olicity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-22 02:31:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8269363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oncer993/pseuds/Oncer993
Summary: Curtis and Felicity both have a heart-to-heart about the decisions they have made/are making.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Because I thought it would be more realistic to have Felicity hang out and bond with Curtis more instead of having a boyfriend who she can't share her secret life with, I wrote this.

Oliver had all but kicked them out of the Arrow cave, insisting quite firmly that they go home and get some rest. He wasn’t wrong; it was late and truth be told Felicity and Curtis were exhausted. Felicity wasn’t ready to go home though. She wasn’t prepared to face another lonely night in the empty loft with nothing but her guilt.

Curtis seemed to notice this as he stopped walking and turned back towards her. He was saying something, Felicity realized, but she hadn’t heard a word of it.

“I’m sorry what?”

“I said do you want to back to my place for dinner? Paul is probably asleep by now but he more than likely put away the left overs.”

It was a sweet offer, one that Felicity seriously wanted to take him up on but she felt as though she’d be intruding.

“It’s no bother,” He said as if he had read her thoughts. Truth be told after the night he had, he wanted someone to talk to about it. Paul would absolutely freak when he saw his face. But Felicity would understand. He could talk with her.

“Well if you insist.” Something about the look on his face, it was almost pleading, pushed her towards saying yes.

“Perfect. He made baked chicken and roasted veggies.”

“How do you know? Is it a marriage thing, you two suddenly share one brain?”

“No,” He laughed as he shook his head. “It’s Tuesday. We always have baked chicken and roasted veggies on Tuesdays.” He shrugged.

Felicity thought it was absolutely adorable that they had a dinner schedule. It was so domestic. Despite the bruising and cuts on Curtis’s face, his face still managed to light up when he spoke of Paul. She knew that look well. The look of being head over heels in love with your partner. She swallowed down the painful feeling the memory was causing as she followed Curtis to his car.

“What are you going to tell him?” She asked as she slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt.

“I’m new to this vigilante lifestyle. What do _you_ think I should tell him?”

“Well you’re not officially on the team just yet. You have a long way to go. Are you sure you really want to do this?”

When Felicity signed on she didn’t know what she was getting herself into, not completely. But unlike him, she didn’t have anyone at home. Curtis did. It wouldn’t be easy for him to lie to Paul. It would cause a huge strain on their relationship and she didn’t know if she could stand by and support that. After all, Oliver’s unwillingness to be truthful with her had led to their break up.

Curtis didn’t answer right away. He had made the decision on a whim, out of anger but in his gut he felt as though it was the right one. He knew he was an asset to the team when it came to supplying tech but on the streets he could do some real work. He could insure that no one went through what he just did.

“Yes,” He answered at last. “I am.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“I know that.” He said a little sharper than he intended.

Felicity wasn’t bothered by his tone. She understood perfectly well what it felt like to have someone try to talk you out of something. Oliver had done it to her when he thought certain situations were too dangerous. If Curtis wanted to do this then as his friend, she was going to support him. Of course, she’d call him out on anything if the need arises too.

“We’re here,” He announced as he pulled into the driveway of the brick two-story home. The yard was well taken care of. The grass cut neatly, the bushes trimmed to perfection. They even had a cobbled walkway that lead to the stairs.

She followed him as he walked ahead of her, smiling as she spotted a gnome by the bottom of the stairs.

“Paul’s idea,” Curtis said as he held the door open for her.

“It’s cute.”

He told her to take a seat at the dining room table while he disappeared towards the back of his house. With nothing else to do, she looked around. On the wall in front of her were various pictures of coffee wall art. From where she was sitting, she could make out a keurig machine sitting on the counter in the kitchen.

_Damn it_ , she thought. That was on her list of possible gifts to get him for Christmas.

While she still celebrated Hanukah and that would never change, she enjoyed the holiday with Oliver and their family members last year. She wouldn’t go all out, what was the point, she had no one to celebrate with anymore but she would get her friends gifts.

Curtis joined her briefly as he made his way into the kitchen. She followed him.

“Did he take the news well?” She asked as she watched him warm up the food from the doorway.

“No. He always overreacts.” He answered with a frown. “I told him I was mugged but the robbers got away. He wants me to go to the cops but I told him it would be pointless.”

“So are you going to pretend to get a new ID, credit cards and all that to keep up with this story?” She whispered the last part just in case Paul had amazing hearing or had gotten up.

“I hadn’t thought of that. Frack,”

“That’s where lying gets you Curtis.” She shrugged sympathetically.

He grabbed two plates from the cabinet and passed them to her. He lifted the casserole dish and they went back to the dining room.

“It’s only going to get harder isn’t it?” Curtis asked after sitting his fork down.

Felicity finished chewing her food and nodded her head.

“You can’t tell him for his own protection and the team’s. You’ll want to sometimes because it’ll just be so tiring keeping it all in. It certainly won’t be easy.”

Curtis nodded, taking a sip of his wine before removing his glasses.

“I just felt so helpless out there. I haven’t felt that way since I was a scrawny kid back in middle school. Hadn’t gotten beat up since then either.”

“I’m sorry Curtis. I never should have asked you to go out there.”

“You didn’t do this Felicity and besides I said yes.” He smiled sadly at her. “Really I don’t blame you.”

“Okay,” She blamed herself. It was now another thing for her to feel guilty about.

“Being nerdy, the tallest but skinniest kid in school on top of being gay wasn’t easy. Didn’t have any friends really. Getting beat up was almost an everyday thing.”

“That’s horrible.” She said feeling angry on his behalf. “People can be so cruel.”

“All I know is I never wanted to feel that powerless again and still don’t. I can do something about it now. I can make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Felicity understood where he was coming from even before he had explained it. Still, it was a hard and rather lonely journey. She hoped he was truly up for it.

“I’m here for you.”

“Thanks and I’m here for you too.”

She titled her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t talk about it but I know what happened in Havenrock is still eating you up. You just stare off sometimes and get this look on your face. Felicity, you did the best you could in a really shitty situation.”

“I didn’t do enough.” She argued.

“Tell me if you could change anything, what would you do differently?”

She looked down at her nearly empty plate. She didn’t have an answer; she never did.

“You could have let it hit Monument point, more people would have died. You could have done nothing at all and well…you made the _best_ choice, Felicity.”

“It doesn’t make me feel better. People died because of me. Not Damien but me.”

“It was because of him you were put in that situation to begin with. The guy was insane.”

She nodded her head in agreement. Under normal circumstances she wouldn’t want Oliver to break his vow not to kill but a world without Damien Darhk running around was a better world. She had told him, in her grief and anger; he needed to do the deed herself.

“If you ever want to talk about it then I’m your guy.” Curtis told her as he placed a hand over hers.

“And if you ever want to rant about your new life as a vigilante then I’m your girl.” She gave him a slight smile.

She didn’t feel better. Curtis wasn’t happy about the prospect of having to lie to Paul in the future either. But it helped to know they had each other's backs. They finished their meal and half of the bottle of wine between the two of them and managed to crash on the sofa.

 


End file.
